José Eugênio Soares (16 January 1938 – 5 August 2022), known professionally as Jô Soares (Portuguese: /ˈʒo soˈaɾis, ˈswa-, -ɾiʃ/), or Jô, was a Brazilian comedian, talk show host, author, musician, actor and writer.

Early life

Soares was born in Rio de Janeiro. Initially pursuing diplomatic service, influenced by his great-grandfather, Soares returned to Brazil for acting classes, and started his career in Rio de Janeiro in 1958.

Career

Soares' television career began at TV Rio in 1958, writing and performing in comedy shows for the station. In 1970, he began to work at Rede Globo. Soares moved to SBT, in 1988, as the host of, "Jô Soares Onze e Meia", (Jô Soares [at] Eleven-Thirty [in the evening]), which aired until 1999. In 2000, he took his show's format (very similar to David Letterman's) back to Rede Globo, where it was then named, "Programa do Jô", which ran until 2016. His first novel, O Xangô de Baker Street (translated as A Samba for Sherlock), was published in 1995 and has been translated into several languages. It was later adapted to a movie with the same name in 2001. Soares also put out various jazz CDs, as well as producing many plays, including a recent version of Richard III.

Personal life

Jô Soares was a Roman Catholic. He expressed devotion to Rita of Cascia. Soares is depicted in the 2024 Globoplay documentary film Um Beijo do Gordo.

Filmography

Below is an incomplete filmography: